Like a modern Aesop's Fables, these ten animal tales in verse can be enjoyed by readers of all ages. Familiar characters in a new and magical form—the greedy crocodile outwitted by the monkey, or the steady tortoise who outran the hare—take their place beside a newly minted gallery of quirky, witty, and fun characters. "Because it was very hot in my house one day and I could not concentrate on my work, I decided to write a summer story involving mangoes and a river," writes Seth in his preface. "By the time I had finished writing 'The Crocodile and the Monkey' (in a cool room lent to me by a friend), another story and other animals had begun stirring in my mind. And so it went on until all ten of these beastly tales were born—or re-born. Of the ten tales told here, the first two come from India, the next two from China, the next two from Greece, and the next two from the Ukraine. The final two came directly from the Land of Gup. I hope you enjoy them and have a beastly time."